— 2d

Daily recap — Nov 11, 2026: Ukraine talks continue in Abu Dhabi as Germany's EU budget plan for Ukraine aid hits pushback

Abu Dhabi talks enter day two, Merz's EU budget plan meets resistance, and a production wall spans three continents

The Brief · Nov 11, 2026, 7:02 PM · 1 min read

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OverviewThe core of it, in under a minute+

Talks between Ukraine and Russia, brokered by the United States, went into a second day in Abu Dhabi after Washington put forward a new security proposal, and Ukraine's President Zelensky said he welcomed a change in how the US mediators are approaching the process. Separately, German Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to fund Ukraine support through the European Union's shared budget rather than one-off arrangements, but four EU countries are opposing the idea. Both the outcome of the talks and the fate of the budget plan remain undecided.

One thread ties the day together: money and diplomacy for Ukraine are moving, but production capacity is the constraint nobody has solved.

Ukraine diplomacy

A second day of US-brokered talks opened in Abu Dhabi after Washington proposed a new security framework; Zelensky said he welcomed the shift in the US mediators' approach, though it is unclear if Wednesday's session will produce terms both sides accept (more).

Germany and the EU

Chancellor Friedrich Merz wants to fold Ukraine support into the EU's common budget instead of relying on ad hoc instruments, but four member states are resisting the plan, leaving open whether it survives budget talks (more).

Analysis: the production wall

Ukrainian contractors won NATO tenders for the first time, South Korean drone makers call a new 5.2 billion won government budget too small to sustain output, and Canada's former defence minister is demanding delivered hardware over more procurement promises — three signs the limiting factor in rearmament has shifted from budgets to manufacturing capacity, with governments still treating it case by case rather than as one shared problem (more).